One of the questions I am frequently asked by many first time readers of my stories is, "How do I square my vision of Shelby's character with the portrayal of her in "Best of Both Worlds." I've attempted to do that in this short vignette. I'll admit, I've taken something of a risk here in a few of my scenes--one in particular. Enjoy!
“Come in Commander Shelby!” Admiral J.P. Hanson smiled as his petite blonde aide entered bearing two cups of steaming hot coffee. “Ah!” The admiral exclaimed as he gratefully took one of the cups from his aide’s hands and took a sip, “That hits the spot.”
“Yes, sir.” Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth Shelby replied, taking a sip of her own coffee as she sat down at her usual chair on the opposite side of the admiral’s desk. Setting her cup down, the youthful aide presented a padd, “Here’s the latest on our preparations against the Borg.”
Waving his hand at the proffered padd, Admiral Hanson instead requested, “I’ve already read it. I want to know your take on the situation.”
“We’re just not ready, sir.” The young aide answered honestly. “We’re having teething problems with the Defiant...”
“What sort of problems?” The admiral asked, leaning forward as he took another sip of coffee.
“To be brutally frank...” Shelby replied, “...it’s too much of a hot-rod. One of the people on the design bureau...” Liz chuckled, “...is into late 20th century ‘muscle-cars.’ He said that the Defiant was like a taking a 455 cubic inch V8 engine from an Olds 442 engine and dropping it into a Pontiac Firebird. While I didn’t understand what he was talking about—I did pick up on his meaning. Too much power in too small a frame.”
“I see...” the admiral nodded his head as he digested the information he had just received. “What about offensive and defensive counters to the Borg?”
Shaking her head, Liz glumly responded, “We’re at least eighteen months away from anything useful.”
“Well...” Admiral Hanson commented as he brushed back his unruly hair, “When the Enterprise encountered the Borg, they were seven thousand light years away. That should give us enough time.”
“Assuming the Borg travel through warp at or just slightly faster than we do...” Lieutenant Commander Shelby observed, “...then we should have everything ready. But...if they are able to travel at a significantly faster speed than we are capable of...”
“Then we’re screwed.” The admiral agreed, nodding his head. His lips turning up into a smile as he regarded his attractive aide, Admiral Hanson announced in a slightly teasing voice, “I have a little surprise for you, Commander.” Leaning forward, the admiral declared in a conspiratorial voice, “Commander Riker has been offered command of the Melbourne.”
Her heart skipping a beat as the admiral spoke, Liz hung on to every word, “That means that Captain Picard will be looking for a new first officer and I’ll be putting your name up for consideration. Now...” the admiral admonished in a fatherly voice, “...I can’t guarantee you’ll get the position, but I think it’s safe to say that you have the inside track, so I think it’d be all right for you to go out and celebrate this weekend.”
“Thank you, sir.” Liz replied as she rose from her seat, “I really appreciate this.”
Waving off his aide’s thanks, Hanson declared, “You’ve more than earned it, Liz. So...” the admiral said as he eyed the padds on his desk, “...after we get done with all this work, how do you intend to wind down?”
Flashing a wicked grin, the youthful lieutenant commander replied, “I was thinking about inviting a few friends over for some poker.”
****************************************************************************
“Bid’s to you Liz, darling.” An attractive dark haired man stripped down to all but his briefs remarked as Elizabeth Shelby, wearing only a bra and panties glanced first at her cards and then at the others in various states of dishabille seated at the table with her. “Hmmm...” the almost naked blonde leered as she considered her options. I’ll bet my bra and call—what you got, Hector?”
Laughing as Hector revealed three jacks, taking the pot, Liz, after turning over her hole card to reveal a pair of queens, slipped out of her bra as the other man and woman at the table removed the last bits of their clothing, leaving them completely naked. “All right, Hector, it’s just the two of us. The name of the game is five-card draw.” She announced as she dealt out the cards, nothing wild and the bet is our bottoms.” Dealing out the last cards, Liz looked at her hand, a blank look on her face as she saw the two kings, ace of clubs, five of hearts, and two of diamonds in her hand. “How many cards?” She asked sweetly.
“One.” Hector responded with a grin.
“Okay.” Liz replied as she dealt out a single card for her opponent, “And dealer will take two.” Maintaining her stone face as she saw that she had drawn another king and the ace of diamonds, Liz remarked in a teasing voice, “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“Ten high straight.” Hector replied triumphantly only to fall silent at the sight of Liz’s smug grin.
“Good, but not quite good enough.” Liz declared triumphantly as she laid her cards on the table. “Full house.”
Licking her lips as Hector stripped off his briefs, Liz’s eyes fell to the plush living room carpet. Standing up, the petite blonde shimmied out of her panties as she leered at her fellow card players. “Time to collect my winnings. Now...” she said in a sultry voice as she gazed lasciviously on the forms of the two men and one woman in the room with her, “...who gets to do me first?
Eeeny..meeny...miney...mo...”
****************************************************************************
Chuckling as his aide walked into his office, still bleary eyed from the night before, Admiral Hanson remarked in a grim tone, “Must have been some card game last night, Commander. Have a seat—you look like you could use it. This time, I’ll get the coffee.” Walking over to the replicator, the admiral placed an order for two cups of coffee, black for him and with cream for the blonde sitting in her usual place on the other side of his desk. Returning with the coffee, J. P. handed Shelby’s cup to her and then walked around to his seat. Sitting down, he announced, the grim voice now accentuated by a strong note of worry and concern, “Get packed, you and I are taking a trip on the Melbourne. We leave as soon as possible.”
“What’s wrong, sir?” Shelby asked in a soft voice, her senses now suddenly alert as she saw the fretful look on the admiral’s face.
“We’re rendezvousing with the Enterprise. Picard received a distress call from Jouret IV."
Whistling softly, Liz remarked, “That’s a long way away.”
Nodding his head, Hanson continued, “Yeah...we have a colony there—New Providence. Or rather...” he continued, his voice taking on a decidedly more somber timber, “...we did have a colony there.”
“The Borg?” Shelby asked as a cold chill ran down her spine.
“The Borg.” Hanson dourly responded. “The entire colony of New Providence was destroyed. There was nothing left but a giant crater. It was like they came in and scooped it out.”
“Just like the Enterprise’s report on what happened with J-25.” Shelby replied as her mind at once began to analyze the situation. “If it is the Borg...then there should be magnetic residue traces...”
“That’s one of the reasons why we’re going.” J. P. declared, “I want you there to provide any help and assistance you can give.”
“And the other reason?” Liz asked as she sipped her coffee.
“I want Picard to get to know you and I want you to get to know Picard and the Enterprise.” The Admiral said, explaining, “If you’re going to be Jean-Luc’s new first officer—assuming we can get Riker to move on and sit in the big seat, that is, then you’ll each need to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and you’ll need to know the people you’ll be serving with.”
“Understood, Sir.” Commander Shelby replied as she rose from her chair, “Then I better get going."
****************************************************************************
“Ah...Commander Shelby!” Admiral Hanson exclaimed, greeting his aide with a wide grin, “I’m just about to return to the Melbourne. Care to walk to the transporter room with me?”
“Love to, sir.” The lovely blonde agreed as she fell in beside the admiral.
“So, Commander...what do you think of your new assignment?”
“It’s everything I hoped it would be.” Liz enthusiastically replied. “It’s an honor to serve under Captain Picard and I just finished meeting with Mr. La Forge, Mr. Worf, Commander Data, and Ensign Crusher and they all impress me as being most capable.”
“And Commander Riker?” J. P. inquired leadingly.
“I’ll be stepping into some very big shoes, sir.” Shelby diplomatically replied as the pair drew nearer the transporter room.
Nodding his head in approval at his aide’s tactful answer as they entered the transporter room to be greeted by Chief O’Brien, Admiral Hanson declared, “I know you’re up to the task, Commander. Good luck and I’ll see you later.” Stepping up on the transporter pad, Hanson ordered, “One to beam back to the Melbourne.”
***************************************************************************
Suppressing a grin as Lieutenant Commander Data made his bid, Liz’s mind briefly flashed back to her last poker game before leaving Earth. Unfortunately—or rather fortunately—Liz amended as her eyes took in the other players at the table, all the participants in this game would be playing for tonight was chips. No clothes would be taken off this time and there would be no post-game orgy. In a way, Liz thought idly to herself, the game and its house rules perfectly represented the personality and attitude of the first officer who was sitting across from her at the table with what appeared to be a confident smirk on his face. They were playing for chips, but there was nothing to risk to the players losing those chips—no latinum on the line, no favors—sexual or otherwise, not even the risk of possible humiliation at having to take off a piece of clothing in front of the other players. The game was perfectly safe—no real winners—no real losers. Comfortable, gentle, and in the end, harmless, even if you lost all your chips, you weren’t out of the game—you could always replicate more. Life, unfortunately, rarely gives you second chances, Liz thought to herself as Data chided Ensign Crusher very much as a schoolmarm would a misbehaving student when the young Acting Ensign had the temerity to ask the android whether he had another king in the hole.
As the bidding went around, Liz, her face still a stony mask, noted how quickly the others folded before Riker’s smug facade of self-assuredness and his cocky hundred raise, until finally even young Wesley, holding three kings, turned down his cards before the first officer’s apparent straight flush, conceding the hand. Eyeing the two pair in her hand, Liz glanced up to once again see a self-satisfied smirk on Riker’s face. That was when the petite blonde knew that he didn’t have anything. The first officer was too confident—too cocksure. Well, Shelby thought, since there’s no real risk anyway, let’s see if I can knock that stupid grin off his face. Looking up from her cards and smiling sweetly, Liz declared, “Well, I only have two pair, but I’ve just got to see your hole card. Call.”
Her lips turning up into a triumphant grin as Riker turned his hole card over to reveal a deuce of spades, Shelby raking in her chips, felt confirmed in her initial appraisal of the Enterprise first officer. Just as I thought, all hat and no cattle.
***************************************************************************
Arriving at the transporter room early, Liz found that the only one there other than Chief O’Brien was Lieutenant Commander Data. Not wanting to waste any time and anxious both to get started and to see whether her theory about a possible Borg footprint would hold up or not, Shelby made her decision. “Good morning, Mr. Data. Why don’t we beam on down and get started?”
“Should we not wait for Commander Riker and Lieutenant La Forge?” The android inquired, partly curious as to why the new officer did not want to wait for the rest of the team.
“If we start now, we would save a great deal of valuable time.” Liz explained, “We should be able to wrap up a great deal of the work so that when Commander Riker joins us we can provide him at least a preliminary report.”
Nodding his head, Data replied, “I see the logic of your statement.”
Turning her attention to the transporter chief as the pair took their places on the transporter pads, Liz commanded, “Two to beam down, Chief.”
“Aye, sir.” Chief O’Brien acknowledged, a raised eyebrow the only outward clue given by the chief as to what he felt would be the Enterprise’s first officer’s likely reaction to Shelby’s early departure.
THE MASKS WE WEAR
“Yes, sir.” Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth Shelby replied, taking a sip of her own coffee as she sat down at her usual chair on the opposite side of the admiral’s desk. Setting her cup down, the youthful aide presented a padd, “Here’s the latest on our preparations against the Borg.”
Waving his hand at the proffered padd, Admiral Hanson instead requested, “I’ve already read it. I want to know your take on the situation.”
“We’re just not ready, sir.” The young aide answered honestly. “We’re having teething problems with the Defiant...”
“What sort of problems?” The admiral asked, leaning forward as he took another sip of coffee.
“To be brutally frank...” Shelby replied, “...it’s too much of a hot-rod. One of the people on the design bureau...” Liz chuckled, “...is into late 20th century ‘muscle-cars.’ He said that the Defiant was like a taking a 455 cubic inch V8 engine from an Olds 442 engine and dropping it into a Pontiac Firebird. While I didn’t understand what he was talking about—I did pick up on his meaning. Too much power in too small a frame.”
“I see...” the admiral nodded his head as he digested the information he had just received. “What about offensive and defensive counters to the Borg?”
Shaking her head, Liz glumly responded, “We’re at least eighteen months away from anything useful.”
“Well...” Admiral Hanson commented as he brushed back his unruly hair, “When the Enterprise encountered the Borg, they were seven thousand light years away. That should give us enough time.”
“Assuming the Borg travel through warp at or just slightly faster than we do...” Lieutenant Commander Shelby observed, “...then we should have everything ready. But...if they are able to travel at a significantly faster speed than we are capable of...”
“Then we’re screwed.” The admiral agreed, nodding his head. His lips turning up into a smile as he regarded his attractive aide, Admiral Hanson announced in a slightly teasing voice, “I have a little surprise for you, Commander.” Leaning forward, the admiral declared in a conspiratorial voice, “Commander Riker has been offered command of the Melbourne.”
Her heart skipping a beat as the admiral spoke, Liz hung on to every word, “That means that Captain Picard will be looking for a new first officer and I’ll be putting your name up for consideration. Now...” the admiral admonished in a fatherly voice, “...I can’t guarantee you’ll get the position, but I think it’s safe to say that you have the inside track, so I think it’d be all right for you to go out and celebrate this weekend.”
“Thank you, sir.” Liz replied as she rose from her seat, “I really appreciate this.”
Waving off his aide’s thanks, Hanson declared, “You’ve more than earned it, Liz. So...” the admiral said as he eyed the padds on his desk, “...after we get done with all this work, how do you intend to wind down?”
Flashing a wicked grin, the youthful lieutenant commander replied, “I was thinking about inviting a few friends over for some poker.”
****************************************************************************
“Bid’s to you Liz, darling.” An attractive dark haired man stripped down to all but his briefs remarked as Elizabeth Shelby, wearing only a bra and panties glanced first at her cards and then at the others in various states of dishabille seated at the table with her. “Hmmm...” the almost naked blonde leered as she considered her options. I’ll bet my bra and call—what you got, Hector?”
Laughing as Hector revealed three jacks, taking the pot, Liz, after turning over her hole card to reveal a pair of queens, slipped out of her bra as the other man and woman at the table removed the last bits of their clothing, leaving them completely naked. “All right, Hector, it’s just the two of us. The name of the game is five-card draw.” She announced as she dealt out the cards, nothing wild and the bet is our bottoms.” Dealing out the last cards, Liz looked at her hand, a blank look on her face as she saw the two kings, ace of clubs, five of hearts, and two of diamonds in her hand. “How many cards?” She asked sweetly.
“One.” Hector responded with a grin.
“Okay.” Liz replied as she dealt out a single card for her opponent, “And dealer will take two.” Maintaining her stone face as she saw that she had drawn another king and the ace of diamonds, Liz remarked in a teasing voice, “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“Ten high straight.” Hector replied triumphantly only to fall silent at the sight of Liz’s smug grin.
“Good, but not quite good enough.” Liz declared triumphantly as she laid her cards on the table. “Full house.”
Licking her lips as Hector stripped off his briefs, Liz’s eyes fell to the plush living room carpet. Standing up, the petite blonde shimmied out of her panties as she leered at her fellow card players. “Time to collect my winnings. Now...” she said in a sultry voice as she gazed lasciviously on the forms of the two men and one woman in the room with her, “...who gets to do me first?
Eeeny..meeny...miney...mo...”
****************************************************************************
Chuckling as his aide walked into his office, still bleary eyed from the night before, Admiral Hanson remarked in a grim tone, “Must have been some card game last night, Commander. Have a seat—you look like you could use it. This time, I’ll get the coffee.” Walking over to the replicator, the admiral placed an order for two cups of coffee, black for him and with cream for the blonde sitting in her usual place on the other side of his desk. Returning with the coffee, J. P. handed Shelby’s cup to her and then walked around to his seat. Sitting down, he announced, the grim voice now accentuated by a strong note of worry and concern, “Get packed, you and I are taking a trip on the Melbourne. We leave as soon as possible.”
“What’s wrong, sir?” Shelby asked in a soft voice, her senses now suddenly alert as she saw the fretful look on the admiral’s face.
“We’re rendezvousing with the Enterprise. Picard received a distress call from Jouret IV."
Whistling softly, Liz remarked, “That’s a long way away.”
Nodding his head, Hanson continued, “Yeah...we have a colony there—New Providence. Or rather...” he continued, his voice taking on a decidedly more somber timber, “...we did have a colony there.”
“The Borg?” Shelby asked as a cold chill ran down her spine.
“The Borg.” Hanson dourly responded. “The entire colony of New Providence was destroyed. There was nothing left but a giant crater. It was like they came in and scooped it out.”
“Just like the Enterprise’s report on what happened with J-25.” Shelby replied as her mind at once began to analyze the situation. “If it is the Borg...then there should be magnetic residue traces...”
“That’s one of the reasons why we’re going.” J. P. declared, “I want you there to provide any help and assistance you can give.”
“And the other reason?” Liz asked as she sipped her coffee.
“I want Picard to get to know you and I want you to get to know Picard and the Enterprise.” The Admiral said, explaining, “If you’re going to be Jean-Luc’s new first officer—assuming we can get Riker to move on and sit in the big seat, that is, then you’ll each need to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and you’ll need to know the people you’ll be serving with.”
“Understood, Sir.” Commander Shelby replied as she rose from her chair, “Then I better get going."
****************************************************************************
“Ah...Commander Shelby!” Admiral Hanson exclaimed, greeting his aide with a wide grin, “I’m just about to return to the Melbourne. Care to walk to the transporter room with me?”
“Love to, sir.” The lovely blonde agreed as she fell in beside the admiral.
“So, Commander...what do you think of your new assignment?”
“It’s everything I hoped it would be.” Liz enthusiastically replied. “It’s an honor to serve under Captain Picard and I just finished meeting with Mr. La Forge, Mr. Worf, Commander Data, and Ensign Crusher and they all impress me as being most capable.”
“And Commander Riker?” J. P. inquired leadingly.
“I’ll be stepping into some very big shoes, sir.” Shelby diplomatically replied as the pair drew nearer the transporter room.
Nodding his head in approval at his aide’s tactful answer as they entered the transporter room to be greeted by Chief O’Brien, Admiral Hanson declared, “I know you’re up to the task, Commander. Good luck and I’ll see you later.” Stepping up on the transporter pad, Hanson ordered, “One to beam back to the Melbourne.”
***************************************************************************
Suppressing a grin as Lieutenant Commander Data made his bid, Liz’s mind briefly flashed back to her last poker game before leaving Earth. Unfortunately—or rather fortunately—Liz amended as her eyes took in the other players at the table, all the participants in this game would be playing for tonight was chips. No clothes would be taken off this time and there would be no post-game orgy. In a way, Liz thought idly to herself, the game and its house rules perfectly represented the personality and attitude of the first officer who was sitting across from her at the table with what appeared to be a confident smirk on his face. They were playing for chips, but there was nothing to risk to the players losing those chips—no latinum on the line, no favors—sexual or otherwise, not even the risk of possible humiliation at having to take off a piece of clothing in front of the other players. The game was perfectly safe—no real winners—no real losers. Comfortable, gentle, and in the end, harmless, even if you lost all your chips, you weren’t out of the game—you could always replicate more. Life, unfortunately, rarely gives you second chances, Liz thought to herself as Data chided Ensign Crusher very much as a schoolmarm would a misbehaving student when the young Acting Ensign had the temerity to ask the android whether he had another king in the hole.
As the bidding went around, Liz, her face still a stony mask, noted how quickly the others folded before Riker’s smug facade of self-assuredness and his cocky hundred raise, until finally even young Wesley, holding three kings, turned down his cards before the first officer’s apparent straight flush, conceding the hand. Eyeing the two pair in her hand, Liz glanced up to once again see a self-satisfied smirk on Riker’s face. That was when the petite blonde knew that he didn’t have anything. The first officer was too confident—too cocksure. Well, Shelby thought, since there’s no real risk anyway, let’s see if I can knock that stupid grin off his face. Looking up from her cards and smiling sweetly, Liz declared, “Well, I only have two pair, but I’ve just got to see your hole card. Call.”
Her lips turning up into a triumphant grin as Riker turned his hole card over to reveal a deuce of spades, Shelby raking in her chips, felt confirmed in her initial appraisal of the Enterprise first officer. Just as I thought, all hat and no cattle.
***************************************************************************
Arriving at the transporter room early, Liz found that the only one there other than Chief O’Brien was Lieutenant Commander Data. Not wanting to waste any time and anxious both to get started and to see whether her theory about a possible Borg footprint would hold up or not, Shelby made her decision. “Good morning, Mr. Data. Why don’t we beam on down and get started?”
“Should we not wait for Commander Riker and Lieutenant La Forge?” The android inquired, partly curious as to why the new officer did not want to wait for the rest of the team.
“If we start now, we would save a great deal of valuable time.” Liz explained, “We should be able to wrap up a great deal of the work so that when Commander Riker joins us we can provide him at least a preliminary report.”
Nodding his head, Data replied, “I see the logic of your statement.”
Turning her attention to the transporter chief as the pair took their places on the transporter pads, Liz commanded, “Two to beam down, Chief.”
“Aye, sir.” Chief O’Brien acknowledged, a raised eyebrow the only outward clue given by the chief as to what he felt would be the Enterprise’s first officer’s likely reaction to Shelby’s early departure.
), someone who's able to balance out his slight scatterbrain tendencies, and his tendency to go for a really wild solution when something more tried-and-true would do. A "cool" personality to temper a "hot" one, basically. (Not that Berat's temperamental...it's more that he just tends to be flitting all over the place, as far as the way his thought processes run. Which can be very good in that he's quick-minded in a crisis, but a personality like that DOES need balance.)
